One Way Or The Other
by WinterVines
Summary: Rangiku was staring out at the river when she first felt him, watching the water rush by much like her life had been. "Ran...what are you doing here?" Gin/Ran. One-shot.


Thought I'd try something different. Set before the war, so obviously, this didn't really happen. I still don't own anything that isn't mine in some way.

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One Way Or The Other

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Rangiku was staring out at the river when she first felt him, just watching the water rush by a little like her life had been until now. She had been so focused with everything that had been going on that she barely noticed time as it passed. It was nice, she noted, to have all her worries wiped away.

Things were simpler here, in the world of the living. All that mattered, as she leaned against the railing overlooking the hill, was the setting sun shining and the gentle breeze flowing through her hair. After all the years of everything she had been through, she couldn't bring herself to care about anything else.

A rustle of cloth that wasn't hers sounded, and Rangiku remembered that she wasn't alone. She knew he had been standing there for over a minute now, and she knew that he knew the same thing. Why he was here is what she didn't know.

Feeling as relaxed as she had never felt before, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at the man behind her. It was probably wrong of her to be acting so casual, but it wasn't any of their business to tell her otherwise. Not anymore. The wound of betrayal still ran deep, but he wasn't technically her enemy anymore. She didn't really know what to think about that right now, so she just smiled.

He was unchanged from the last time she saw him, other than the change in wardrobe. His silver hair still reflected the shiny sunlight, and he still stood in that half relaxed half defensive way, something they had learned from growing up in one of the roughest parts of the Rukongai. Right now it didn't matter if he was a traitor or not. She found simple happiness in just seeing Gin that she couldn't bring herself to care about the details.

The only thing out of place was his ever-present smile. At her look he started towards her, and as he neared, the usual grin he wore slipped downward until he had a frown in place. She looked over at him as he reached the rail, and she watched him look her up and down, trying to find out what was out of place.

He probably noticed she wasn't in her uniform. The clothes here weren't as comfortable as what she used to wear, but there was little she could do about that now. He might be wondering why she wasn't taking action against him, too. It wasn't a matter of not being able to do anything about that, but more of a matter of not wanting to this time.

Not being able to stand the silence anymore, she did the only thing she could think of. "Hey."

Her voice was soft, and it seemed to reflect her temperament. She was just so tired, and she wondered if it was highly noticeable. She couldn't read his face very well at the moment to see if he reacted to it. She had never been that good at it, and he was always exemplary at masking what he felt when he wanted to. That was the way he used to be. She wondered how much had changed. Everything she could have known might have been false. She didn't know if she ever knew what he was really like at all.

"Ran…" A furrow formed in his brow as he spoke, and she knew that was his thinking face. That was no different. He was probably trying to figure out what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

She looked back out to the river before answering, wondering why she never took time out to enjoy things like this before. "I think the better question is, what are _you_ doing here?"

She heard him sigh, and she spoke again before he could say anything. "Is there a reason why I shouldn't be here?" Besides the obvious ones, at least. They probably weren't very obvious to Gin though.

"Are you patrolling?"

She could only bite back half of the laugh that came out of her mouth. In the end, it sounded one part bitter and two parts amused. "No."

He continued to frown, and Rangiku wondered what the world had come to. She would've never guessed that she would be standing here with him like this. She eyed him carefully as she answered his unspoken question. "No, patrolling is for Soul Reapers."

She didn't miss the way his eyebrows shot up, and she was glad that she wasn't the only one that felt that way. He looked a little stunned. She had been too, at first. Now it had melded into a thin fog that wrapped around her mind. The full implications of her situation hadn't hit her yet.

She looked away from him in order to look out at the scenery again. The sun was drifting lower, and the orange glow burned brightest on the horizon line. The wind picked up for a moment, and Rangiku almost flinched as a cold draft passed. It was an all too vivid reminder of what was coming. Soon the war would break out, and she wasn't sure what she was going to do when it started.

She sighed, and Gin's hand moved to her shoulder, turning her towards him. She looked up, and they were barely more than a foot apart. There were no traces of anything but pure seriousness on his face, and she prepped herself for the best way to go about having the conversation she really didn't want to have. "What do you mean, Rangiku?"

She bit her bottom lip for a moment. He rarely ever used her first name. It only reaffirmed what she thought. The fog started to drift away with the wind, and she had to turn away before she lost it. She stopped herself from shaking, but only barely. She was no longer a Soul Reaper.

"I think…," she started, not really knowing where to go from there. She had still been in her daze as she left, and she hadn't had the chance to really think about it. She was good at distracting herself. "The old man has finally lost it."

She laughed lightly, even though there wasn't anything funny about the situation. It was shaky, perhaps a bit hysterical, and Rangiku was glad for the increased pressure on her shoulder. It was like a rock she could cling to. It was funny, she realized, that that was what he had been before he left. She wondered if some things had really changed.

"The Soul Society is a mess. They just won't _listen_. Everyone is arguing with everyone, creating rifts, not working together. They're fighting among themselves when a war is looming just over the horizon. I just don't understand any of it." She laughed again, and she caught the way Gin frowned further out of the corner of her eye. "Maybe it was good that you got out when you did."

She couldn't completely hold back her shaking anymore, not when she thought about what was going to happen. She could almost predict the outcome of the war right now, and things didn't look good. Not with the way things were. The Soul Society didn't stand a chance.

Gin's hand trailed down to arm to catch hers, and she didn't notice it had been shaking until he held her hand still. It helped. She could probably finish the tale now.

She didn't know why she was telling him all this. She probably shouldn't be, actually. He could tell Aizen of the Soul Society's disorganization. It might lead to an earlier fight. She couldn't bring herself to care though. Not after what happened. She didn't care if he was an enemy of the place she left behind. He wasn't hers. The only wrong he had committed against her was leaving, but she had already become used to that. It wasn't the first time he had gone, and if they lived by some miracle, she doubted it would be the last.

Right now they were just two childhood friends sharing a minute of not having to fight. The held hands between them was a symbol of strength, and she drew on it with all she had. Gin never did speak much when it came down to it. He was more a man of actions, and she was going to take whatever he did at face value. She realized that he probably cared in his own way, and that was good enough for her.

She gave him a small smile before looking back out to the river. "They started with Momo." She revisited the memories that seemed so long ago already, and she paused before swallowing back the thick feeling she felt in her throat.

"She recovered roughly, but she functioned well enough to keep up with Division work. I thought she was even on an upward swing, thanks to Captain Hitsugaya. Then, one day while she was visiting us, the punishment force swept in and took her away. They said her loyalty was questionable, and they wouldn't listen to Hitsugaya's protests. They gave him another suspension. We…never saw her again."

She closed her eyes as she remembered the look on the younger girl's face as they pulled her away. There had been a defeated look in her eyes, one you got when you fought so hard but still know you'll lose the battle, and towards the end she didn't even fight it anymore. One month burned to two and two to three but there wasn't any word of what happened to her. They knew though, she and Captain Hitsugaya, that Momo was probably executed. When they realized it, Rangiku couldn't bear to see the haunted look in her old captain's eyes.

"It went downhill fast from there. There's a new Central 46 already. They're worse than the first ones. They started taking a look back at the Ryoka situation. Yamamoto didn't object to a lot of their suggestions. Everyone involved was punished."

She felt Gin squeeze her hand lightly, but he didn't say anything. That was probably for the better anyway. She didn't know if she could start again if she stopped. She took a deep breath.

"Izuru and Shuhei have permanent supervision now. They realized they couldn't arrest them too and still have functioning Divisions, so they came up with the next best thing. They're still imprisoned, but they have to work their tails off constantly too."

They had stopped being able to go drink with her. That wasn't what bothered her about it even. They didn't go anywhere. They were chained to their desks, and they were burning out fast. The last time she had seen them they had been withered, with rings around their eyes. They weren't allowed to have time to get over the sorrow that plagued them.

"Captain Komamura was the last one with Tousen before the defection. He was put on a longer suspension than Captain Hitsugaya. There isn't a disloyal bone in him, but nobody will listen to reason anymore. Everyone that had been here before has been prohibited from returning until the war starts. All contact with Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara has been forbidden. They even established a curfew for everyone not on patrol."

It had got ridiculous, she thought. There wasn't anything she could've done about it though. She knew when to keep her mouth shut. They were looking for any excuse to examine someone, and she hadn't wanted them looking her way. It was too bad they made their way down the list anyway.

"They reopened Rukia's case too. They wanted to execute her, even though her trial was proven to be nothing more than Aizen's plot. They labeled her as dangerous for that reason alone. Captain Kuchiki stopped it this time, and then they moved to suspend him. They wanted to arrest him for something that didn't really make sense, but they weren't going to get anything done if every captain was tied up. Captain Kuchiki. Can you believe it?"

She couldn't at the time. She still couldn't, if she thought about it. He was one of their best, who never did anything that wasn't for the good of the Soul Society. Yet they turned on him too. She wondered for the second time that day what the world had come to.

Gin didn't say anything again, but she didn't expect him to. She was on her train now, and she wasn't slowing down until she got to her stop.

"Captain Ukitake was ordered to find a replacement vice captain. He was told he couldn't have two third seats. He had to demote one, since neither of them qualified for lieutenant." She wasn't sure which one took the cut, but she knew their captain was having a rough time with the whole thing. He had wanted Rukia, thinking that he could finally get her brother to consent, but Central 46 blocked it with the trial.

"They didn't even spare the Twelfth. Someone found out about the artifact that Captain Kurotsuchi gave the Quincy to let the Bounts into the Soul Society. Of course when questioned, the snake blamed it on Nemu. They took his word for it for the same reason they didn't arrest Captain Kuchiki. The arrested her instead."

Now the girl was probably rotting away in a cell somewhere. Rangiku knows that Nemu would never speak against her captain even if he was wrong, so it was almost fitting that she took the fall for him. It was clearly what he expected of her, like she was a pawn and worth nothing more than the substances he created her with. In a way, that was how the Gotei was treating them too. Rangiku was almost glad to be rid of it.

"Nanao, she was next." A part of her burned when she thought of her best friend. Nanao always followed the rules, but she always followed Shunsui first. It was sad that it came back to get her in the end. "To teach a lesson to the others, Yamamoto had her arrested too. She followed her captain during the execution, and consequently, into a battle against the head captain. He saw it as an act of defiance."

She turned to look at Gin for a moment, and she saw that he was slightly surprised too. Again she felt better about her opinion on the matter. "You should have seen Shunsui. If I hadn't already known he was in love with her, it would've definitely shown then. He tried to fix it, but the only thing it earned him was a spot in the cell next to hers. I guess Yamamoto doesn't go easy on his students after all."

Shunsui and Nanao had been the last people she saw before she left. He had wished her the best but hadn't said much else. Nanao had told her to get out while she still could. She had sat in the cell defiantly, like the old man had labeled her previous actions, arms crossed and determination set. Rangiku remembered asking her about the situation, and Nanao had told her, _'I regret nothing.' _Rangiku admired her courage and her will to stand next to the person she believed in no matter where it led her.

Rangiku wished she could do the same. She didn't know what she could do now. She had made her choice.

"And me…" She trailed off, smiling even though she was not glad. Maybe Nanao was right. She supposed she didn't need to physically stand in order to defend what she believed in. "It was exile for me."

He stiffened a little, and she turned to look at him. She smiled at him again, and looked down at their hands. She could maybe understand why he was so tense, why he seemed so alarmed that she was no longer in the protection squads.

When they were younger, all they had to watch out for them was each other. They became Soul Reapers so they could have a better life and learn how to defend themselves. Being a part of the Gotei had been like a second or third pair of eyes for her. If she wasn't watching herself, Gin was usually doing it whether or not she wanted him to. If he had to be away, she at least had comrades. Now, she had nobody. She wasn't quite sure what she felt about that yet.

"It was either black or white. There were no exceptions. It was one way or the other. I had a choice too, when they finally came to me."

She remembered when the punishment force came knocking. They came for her while she was at the office, doing paperwork for once. Her captain had looked ready to put up a fight, not wanting to see two of his closest friends be dragged out of his door. She had waved him down though, and went with them willingly. When she was brought to the First Division, she made her choice.

She looked up from their hands, and her breath hitched as she met his eyes. She had always found them so beautiful. Now they reminded her that the world wasn't black and white like Central 46 and Yamamoto wanted it. There were shades of grey and wonderful colors mixed in, and she didn't want to live in any proposed world where that didn't exist.

"They gave me a choice you know. 'Consorting with a traitor' they said. I think they believed that I helped you escape too." His frown returned to his face. She shook her head, not wanting him to believe that part was his fault. She made her own choices.

She chuckled lightly. "They told me I could choose exile, or I could tell them everything I knew about you. I would've also had to investigate further, and I'm pretty sure they would've sent me to Hueco Mundo after a time to find out more."

She smiled again, feeling the burning sensation come to her eyes. She held it in with luck. She still couldn't believe they thought she would do that, even if she thought it might've helped. She had already told them everything that could've been useful. She was not playing their lap dog too.

"Do you know what I told them?" She knew that it was obvious what her choice was, but she wanted to share what she said. He shook his head, and she continued with a tight grin. "When they asked me if I would cooperate with them, I told them I would rather die."

She couldn't stop the tear that rolled down her cheek after that, nor the one that came after. She couldn't read the look on Gin's face as she said it, and she didn't know if having clear sight would've helped. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. She took a shuddering breath and felt his hand running through her hair.

She lost hold of whatever wall she had built then. It came crumbling down in a heap, and for once, she let herself deal with the situation she was in. She had never been loud while she cried, and that hadn't changed over the years. Gin held her as she dealt with her frustration in one of the most simplest ways, and she didn't fail to notice how much like old times this was.

It was just like back in the Rukongai, holding her while asking who he needed to beat up. This time though, it wasn't just one thing he could protect her from. If any beating needed to be done, she was going to help too. With that thought, she let herself stop thinking for once and just felt.

When she calmed down enough to think again, she had her arms around her neck and a wet spot on his shoulder where her head had been resting. One arm of his was around her waist, and the other was still stroking her hair. She found the action soothing. She let herself breathe in deeply, inhaling a scent that only belonged to Gin. She lowered her arms and took a half step back, and she noticed that he didn't take his arm off of her.

Rangiku looked at him, and the hand in her hair slowly trailed down to stroke her cheek. Things were simple like this, when all she had to worry about was them. She noticed that he looked tired, and she wondered what he had gone through. He usually didn't tell her about that, only focusing on how hard she had it. It seemed that hadn't changed either.

The sun had sat while she talked and he listened and then comforted her. The air was colder, and the moon had begun to appear overhead. She smiled at him and said, "You never told me why you were here." Laughing lightly at her own joke, she turned to watch the moonlight dance over the ripples in the river. She rested her head against his shoulder as she did, forcing his hand to move.

To her surprise, he chuckled into her hair and answered her. "You know me, Ran. I got restless."

She smiled, if not at the fact that he told her, then for the answer he gave. He always did wander. At least that hadn't changed. She was finding that many things about him were exactly how she remembered. It made her feel better.

They were both quiet then, each lost to their own thoughts. She wondered what he was risking by being here. She frowned lightly at where her thoughts were going, hoping he couldn't see. She wasn't going to ask him his reasons for doing what he did. She knew he had them. He usually did things for a reason. Maybe one day he would tell her.

She shivered a little, and she smiled as his hand came up to rub her arm. He had always been in tune with her. It was sad that things had turned out the way they did. They rose above one struggle just to be faced with a bigger one.

"Aizen's moving soon." His voice was quiet, and she removed her head from his shoulder in order to look at him. He returned the look, taking his eyes away from the river she had been staring at. "I don't want you in Karakura when he does."

She frowned at him. He didn't make it sound like an order, but Gin never left much room for discussion when he suggested something. Everything may be in shambles, but she wasn't defenseless. She believed in stopping the madman that thought he was a god. She couldn't lay around and do nothing while her friends were in danger, while Gin was in danger…

"Well I don't want you here when he does either."

He chuckled, and Rangiku dropped the frown. There really wasn't any use arguing about it at this point. What was done was done.

"Where would we go, Ran?" His tone had her raising a brow. He actually sounded like he was considering it. She found it strange but didn't question it, just in case he was serious. She thought about an answer instead.

"Somewhere warm. Near the ocean. We could walk on the beach at night, watching the waves rise to our toes." She smiled, the image not so much different from the one they were in right now. It would be a place where there was no Winter, where she didn't have to worry about war or how many were going to die. It would just be her and Gin, and she would be content.

He smiled a little, and she couldn't help but return it. "Maybe we will, Ran. Maybe we will."

He dipped down to kiss her, and she knew that if he didn't already hold her heart, he would have definitely caught it again. While things surrounding them had always been difficult, things with them had always been simple. There was never a question when it came to what was between them, and she knew that even though he may not say it, he still loved her in his own way. He knew that she loved him too, and that was enough. They stood together for the rest of the night, not knowing what tomorrow would mean.

And though the war was still near and she wasn't completely sure what she was going to do, she found her worries lessened. After all, Gin was turning out to be just like she thought she knew, and he always kept his promises when it came to them.

That had sounded a lot like a promise to her.

-Fin

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I realized I hadn't done a direct Gin/Ran yet. I skipped homework to do this today. Now I have to go do that. I was thinking of doing NaNoWriMo for fanfiction this year, and I realized that I'll have to have a word count like this every other day to make it. Yeah. I'm going to try. I hope.

Oh, and if Gin seems off, he probably is. I haven't written much of him, and I get horribly frustrated with the accent they give him. I do not like it. It may not be authentic or whatever, but I like the English dubbed voice they give him. It's slightly creepy and smooth. It seems to fit him more than an accent that I cannot write. At least in my opinion. That's also why he barely did any talking.

Well, if you've gotten this far, I thank you for reading and I hope you enojyed. Leave a review if you feel so inclined and have a wonderful day.


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